IT'S easy to spot Eloise Mackereth on the football field.
She's the hard-running half-forward with a ribbon in her hair (usually white, red if she's "feeling lucky"), and the widest smile of anyone on the park.
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Unlike many of her older peers, Mackereth has always wanted to be an AFLW player, with the competition having kicked off a few months before she turned 10.
The South Australian started playing with the boys in primary school around then, crossing to Plympton Bulldogs when the junior club created a girls team.
She's been a fixture in her state's junior pathway for a few years, making her top-flight SANFLW debut with Glenelg when she was 16.
"As soon as I started, I've always wanted to be an AFLW player. My dad played a lot of footy, and when we'd go for kicks on the street, it'd be – this is what I want to do," Mackereth told AFL.com.au.
"Seeing my friends from primary school, the older girls as well (including Sarah Goodwin, Violet Patterson and Poppy and Matilda Scholz), all of them getting drafted and stuff – I knew it was a dream from when I was nine years old.
"It's pretty cool (to see them play AFLW). I make sure to watch the majority of their games, or at least a lot of them, and it's cool to see their growth and how much they've actually become an AFLW player, from doing it for fun, to actually doing it for a career."
A member of the Marsh AFL National Girls Academy this year, Mackereth kicked seven goals from her four national championship matches, impressing with her overhead marking and ability to cover the ground.
At 173cm, she can also play as a taller winger, and was named in last year's under-18 All-Australian team.
The ribbon has become a superstition, but the smile comes naturally, somewhat disguising Mackereth's drive beneath.
"I used to play a lot of sports like netball, but footy is such a team-oriented sport. The culture is so good, it's not cliquey or toxic, it's just a good environment. When I'm playing footy, it's just the best feeling in the world, I love it so much. There's not any other sport I'd rather play," she said.
"People always tell me that when I play, I have a big smile on my face, it's the key sign that I'm enjoying it.
"I just popped [a ribbon] in one day and thought it looked a bit cute, that I can be stylish while playing footy, but then I started doing well while I was wearing it, so it became a subconscious thing, putting in a cute ribbon will help me play better. But also so my family can spot me, that's the other reason."
An Adelaide supporter in men's footy, she spreads her allegiance across the competition in AFLW, supporting her friends over an individual team.
"It's a bit of a weird answer", given the 15cm height difference, but Mackereth models her game on Matilda Scholz, given the Port Adelaide star's aerial prowess.
Gone are the days of South Australian products being limited to joining their former junior teammates at either the Power or the Crows, given the relatively recent introduction of the national draft, but Mackereth is fully prepared to get on the move.
Once settled at her new home, whether in Adelaide or elsewhere, she hopes to study media and communications at university.
"I'm super nervous (about the draft), but so excited. I'm trying not to think too much, because I feel like it'll consume all my thoughts and stuff, but I'm really nervous. But I'm lucky I can even be in this year's draft pool and have a chance of being picked up, so I'm excited," she said.
"I don't really want to live in Adelaide forever. It's a lovely place, but there's a whole world out there. I have connections in lots of different states, family and friends, and I'm quite an extroverted person, so I'll be making friends wherever I go."
